Jeffrey S. Feinstein (born January 29, 1945) is a retired career officer of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

(USAF). During the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, Feinstein was a

weapon systems officer A Weapon Systems Officer (WSO), nicknamed "Wizzo", is an air flight officer directly involved in all air operations and weapon systems of a military aircraft. Historically, aircrew duties in military aircraft were highly specialised and rigi ...

, an integral part of two-man aircrews with the emergence of

air-to-air missile The newest and the oldest member of Rafael's Python family of AAM for comparisons, Python-5 (displayed lower-front) and Shafrir-1 (upper-back) An air-to-air missile (AAM) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying ...

s as the primary weapons during aerial combat. Flying aboard

F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bo ...

s, Feinstein downed five enemy aircraft, thereby becoming a

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

, the last of five U.S. aviators to become aces during that conflict and to date still the most recent aviator to achieve ace status in the U.S. military.

Early life

Born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, Illinois, on January 29, 1945, Feinstein enlisted in the USAF in 1963 to attend the United States Military Academy Preparatory School. He subsequently entered the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Un ...

in 1964 and graduated in 1968.

Military career

Feinstein was rejected from pilot training due to excessive

myopia Near-sightedness, also known as myopia and short-sightedness, is an eye disease where light focuses in front of, instead of on, the retina. As a result, distant objects appear blurry while close objects appear normal. Other symptoms may include ...

. He then underwent Undergraduate Navigator Training and he graduated. While assigned to the 80th Tactical Fighter Squadron, he was detached to the

13th Tactical Fighter Squadron The 13th Fighter Squadron is a fighter squadron of the United States Air Force. The squadron flies the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon and is part of the 35th Fighter Wing at Misawa Air Base, Japan. The squadron traces its heritage bac ...

, part of the

432d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing The 432nd Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command at Creech Air Force Base near Indian Springs, Nevada. It flies General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper and RQ-170 Sentinel Unmanned aerial vehicles. The group operates unmanned ...

, based at

Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base (Udorn RTAFB) is a Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) base, the home of 23rd Wing Air Command. It is in the city of Udon Thani in northeastern Thailand and is the main airport serving the city and province. The RTAF 2 ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. His actions, for which he received multiple awards of the Distinguished Flying Cross and

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an ...

for his first four kills and the Air Force Cross for his fifth kill, took place prior to and during

Operation Linebacker Operation Linebacker was the codename of a U.S. Seventh Air Force and U.S. Navy Task Force 77 air interdiction campaign conducted against North Vietnam from 9 May to 23 October 1972, during the Vietnam War. Its purpose was to halt or slow th ...

in 1972, making him a flying ace. His nickname/tactical callsign was "Fang." Having originally been designated as an Air Force Navigator, he was given a vision waiver after Vietnam (Feinstein wore glasses to correct mild nearsightedness to 20/20). Reassigned to the 9th Air Force staff at

Shaw AFB Shaw Air Force Base (Shaw AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located approximately west-northwest of downtown Sumter, South Carolina. It is one of the largest military bases operated by the United States, and is under the jurisdic ...

, South Carolina in the 1990s, Feinstein also flew as Airborne Command Element Director aboard

E-3 Sentry The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an American airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft developed by Boeing. E-3s are commonly known as AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System). Derived from the Boeing 707 airliner, it provides all-weath ...

AWACS aircraft during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm from August 1990 to February 1991. Lieutenant Colonel Feinstein retired from the U.S. Air Force on 1 July 1996.

Awards and decorations

In addition to his

Command Pilot U.S. Air Force aeronautical ratings are military aviation skill standards established and awarded by the United States Air Force for commissioned officers participating in "regular and frequent flight",The standard by which flight status has bee ...

wings,

Navigator A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's primar ...

wings, and Parachutist wings, Feinstein was awarded the Air Force Cross,

(4 awards),

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

, Distinguished Flying Cross with

Combat "V" Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

(5 awards),

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

, Meritorious Service Medal,

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

(23 awards),

Aerial Achievement Medal The Aerial Achievement Medal (AAM) is a decoration of the United States Air Force which was established in 1988. The decoration is intended to recognize the contributions of aircrew members who would, otherwise, not be qualified for the award of ...

Air Force Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fift ...

, and numerous unit, expeditionary and service awards.

Air Force Cross citation

:Feinstein, Jeffrey S., :Captain, U.S Air Force :13th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 388th Tactical Fighter Wing, Korat Royal Thai Air Base, Thailand :Date of Action: October 13, 1972 :Citation:

MiG kill summary

References

External links

US Air-to-Air Victories

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feinstein, Jeffrey American Vietnam War flying aces United States Air Force officers United States Air Force Academy alumni Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United States) Living people Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War 1945 births Military personnel from Chicago Aviators from Illinois United States Air Force personnel of the Gulf War